vlad.tribnet.com / Issue #151 / Special reports / Reading article...

The following laws were passed by the Primorye Duma in its attempt to strip the powers of Mayor Victor Cherepkov. Decree No. 705 targets Cherepkov by name. In an effort to lay the legal groundwork for that action, the duma passed Decree No. 704. Scroll further down, and you'll see the response from the mayor's office.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Primorye Duma Decree No. 705. Sept. 26, 1997

On the Temporary Suspension of the Authority of the Chief Executive Officer of the City of Vladivostok, Victor I. Cherepkov.

The City of Vladivostok has seen a vicious practice in which the chief executive of the city would pass legal regulatory acts that contradict legislation in effect and destroy the systems of health care, education, public housing and the city's other vital areas.

As a result of actions by the chief executive of the city of Vladivostok, Victor I. Cherepkov, hospitals, maternity houses, schools, asylums and other institutions are barely surviving.

Based on the aforementioned, and considering appeals from the staff of the city's social institutions, individual citizens, and the filing of a suit from Primorye Duma in the Primorye Supreme Court as stipulated by Article 49 of the federal law ... (in) recognition of non-compliance of the actions by the chief executive of the city Victor I. Cherepkov according to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, federal laws, the statutes and laws of Primorsky Krai, ... the Primorye duma decrees:

1. That the authority of the chief executive of the City of Vladivostok Victor I. Cherepkov be suspended temporarily until Primorye Supreme Court makes the decision.
   
2. That Yuri M. Kopylov, deputy chief executive of the city of Vladivostok, be appointed acting chief executive of the city of Vladivostok.
   
3. That the present decree come into effect after it is passed.

Duma Chairman Nikolai Litvinov

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Primorye Duma Decree No. 704. Sept. 26, 1997

Regulations for the Temporary Suspension of Authority of a Local Government Body or Elected Official in a Local Government in Primorsky Krai

1. The local government body and any elected official of the local government shall be responsible to the state in case it/he violates the Constitution of the Russian Federation, Primorye statutes, federal or Primorye laws, or the statute of a municipality.
   
2. In the event that any court finds that a local government body or an elected officer of the local government has violated the Constitution of the Russian Federation, federal law, or Primorye statutes or laws, the Primorye duma shall be entitled to apply to the Primorye Supreme Court for recognition of non-compliance of actions by the local government body or the elected official...
   
3. In the event the Primorye Duma has applied to Primorye Supreme Court for recognition of non-compliance of actions by a local government body or an elected official of a local government in Primorsky Krai[,]… the Primorye Duma shall decree that the activity of the local government body or the elected official of the local government in Primorsky Krai be temporarily suspended until Primorye Supreme Court makes a decision.
   
4. Until a decision is passed to elect another official of the local government in Primorsky Krai Primorye, the duma shall appoint an acting person to the position from among his deputies.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Official statement from the mayor’s office

On Sept.26, the illegitimate Krai Duma, whose term of office was due to end last January, passed two resolutions.

1. A temporary suspension of the powers of the local government and its elective officials.
   
2. A temporary suspension of powers of Mayor Victor Cherepkov until the krai court considers the appeal from the krai Duma about laws breached by him. Both resolutions are illegal. According to the third part of Article 49 in the federal law … a court decision acknowledging the mayor has violated the Constitution, the krai charter, or other laws can only be the basis for the Krai Duma to discuss the issue of canceling mayor’s powers. Meanwhile, the Duma breached the constitutional principle of separation of powers, stated in Article 10 of the Constitution, when it assumed the court’s authority and announced that the mayor had broken the law. The normative document, written by the Duma, affects people’s rights and freedoms and touches on voters’ interests. Therefore, solving the question about the temporary suspension of the mayor’s powers can only be done by the court. ...

The Duma did not have the right to appoint Yury Kopylov as acting mayor after relinquishing the mayor’s powers. By doing it, the Duma breached Article 13 in the Constitution stating that the system of state organs doesn’t include local governments, and local governments are accepted and guaranteed by the Constitution. The Duma, being an organ of the state power, interfered in the process of appointing the mayor and breached the Constitution. Moreover, it knew about bad health conditions of Yury Kopylov, who is now in the hospital.

At the moment, Cherepkov is on the business trip. N. Markovtsev is acting for him. The Duma didn’t have any legal basis to cancel Markovtsev’s powers. The mayor office can’t agree with Duma’s resolutions and in accordance with article 133 of the Constitution is appealing to court to call resolutions illegal from their very beginning...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Who is to be blamed in the problems of the local health workers?

600 billion rubles was left to Cherepkov by the team of well-known professionals.

28 billion rubles was the city debt to teachers when Cherepkov was restored as the mayor [after his outster from 1994-96]. By Dec. 31, Cherepkov had paid salaries for two months that had not been paid by Tolstoshein.

2 billion rubles was found by the mayor for repairing city schools. The krai gave 176 million rubles.

50 percent of children studying in the city boarding schools come from the different places in the krai.

12 billion rubles had to be paid to the boarding schools for the last year.

The mayor’s office paid 5.2 billion. The krai paid nothing.

0 rubles was received by the city from the [federal] governmental funds transfers sent to the krai.

1 trillion rubles was lost by Vladivostok because of the resolutions passed by the Krai Duma.